WEST
COMPLETES COMEBACK ON DAY THREE TO RETAIN CANON CUPCochran scores decisive point at Sea Island

SEA
ISLAND, Ga.  Match play golf doesnt
get much closer than it did at the 2003 AJGA Canon
Cup. Trailing by two points entering the singles matches,
the West team earned 12 of the possible 20 points
on day three to retain the Canon Cup, 26-24. It is
the third consecutive year the West has hoisted the
trophy.

The
tournament was conducted at the Sea Island Golf Club,
Seaside Course. The 40-player event consisted of 32
Polo Golf Junior All-Americans among the East and
West teams, each composed of 10 girls and 10 boys.
Past competitors in the event include Charles Howell
III, Kelli Kuehne, Grace Park and Tiger Woods.

The
tournament featured three days of match play competition.
The first two days included foursome and four-ball
matches, and the final day was played in singles format.
In the 14-year history of the event, the East team
has claimed victory seven times, and the West has
captured six titles, including four of the last five.
One tie occurred in 1998.

The
West team began day three with a two-point deficit,
16-14, but wasted little time pulling even. Randy
Lowry of Spring, Texas, opened up the day with a 2-up
win against Chris Kirk of Woodstock, Ga. Hannah Jun
of San Diego, who finished the event with a 4-0 record,
followed with a 1-up win against Sukjin Wuesthoff
of Toms River, N.J.

The
one thing I really wanted bad was to be on a Canon
Cup team, Jun said. Then after I achieved
that I wanted to win a Canon Cup, and thats
the best part.

Luke
List of Ringgold, Ga., responded for the East with
a victory against Seung Su Han of Chino Hills, Calif.,
3 and 2. Jenny Suh of Fairfax, Va., put the East in
the lead by two with a triumph against Lauren Espinosa
of Irving, Texas, 7 and 6.

The
West took control with a flurry in the next seven
matches. When the dust settled, the West earned six
points, winning five and halving two. The final match
of the stretch proved to be crucial.

Chanin
Puntawong of Bradenton, Fla., led Will Osborne of
Wichita Falls, Texas, 1-up with one hole to play,
but Osborne won the 18th hole to force a halved match.

This
was definitely the hardest of the three (Canon Cup
wins), said West Captain Gus Montaño,
who has served as West captain during the teams
three-year winning streak. We stayed strong,
stayed to the game plan, and when we had a window
of opportunity, we took advantage of it.

The
West vaulted to the front with a 22-20 lead, but the
East refused to go down easily. Christie Reed of Coral
Springs, Fla., cut the lead to one point when she
defeated Kristen Svicarovich of Hillsboro, Ore., 3
and 2. Reed provided a bright spot on an otherwise
disappointing day for the East as she and Jun were
the only players to win all four matches.

It
got so exciting starting halfway through (Wednesdays)
morning matches, East Captain Matt Cuccaro said.
(The West) really started to turn it on and
start creeping closer and closer, and they just kept
closing that gap. We built a pretty good lead that
first day, and I really thought we were going to hang
on to it. I thought we were going to excel in the
singles matches, but it just didnt work out
like that this week.

Daniel
Im of La Mirada, Calif., Amanda Blumenherst of Scottsdale,
Ariz., and Taylor Leon of Dallas subsequently recorded
victories to push the Wests total to 25 points.

Needing
only a half point, Amie Cochran of Torrance, Calif.,
halved her match with Whitney Myers of East Berlin,
Pa., to collect the decisive point.

Its
really cool (to score the decisive point), Cochran
excitedly said. The first day was kind of scary
because we were way down, but I knew we could bring
it together and come back.

In
2002, the West won 35.5-14.5 at Conway Farms Golf
Club in Lake Forest, Ill., and won 30.5-19.5 at Biltmore
Forest Country Club in Asheville, N.C., in 2001. Next
year the AJGA Canon Cup will be played at Caves Valley
Golf Club in Owings Mill, Md.

For
more information, please contact AJGA National Headquarters
at (770) 868-4200.

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